March 29, 2002 - The April 1 edition of Newsweek carried the ominous headline: How will Israel survive? Most of us thought we'd never have to hear the question again. But with psychopaths cashing in on Iraqi-sponsored life insurance policies at the expense of innocent Israeli civilians daily, the dramatic headline is more than fitting. The problem isn't the headline, however, it's that Newsweek answers its rhetorical question with cliches and historical misconceptions that have contaminated mainstream coverage of the Middle East for years.

Israel, one of the most technologically advanced and humane nations on earth, a marvel of postwar economic and scientific development, is under attack. A concerted Arab effort to encourage terror against Jews (Iraq's payment of suicide bombers' families would be enough for any sane nation to declare war), coupled with the rise Muslim fundamentalism puts Israel's existence into serious danger for the first time since 1973.

Over the past decades the PLO, the world's leading terrorist organization, has morphed into the Palestinian Authority, but their goal remains the same: the destruction of Israel.

Palestinians, pawns in a regional push to eliminate Jews in the Middle East, have instigated a war against the civilian population of Israel -- a portion of which was previously sympathetic to their cause. Over the past decades the PLO, the world's leading terrorist organization, has morphed into the Palestinian Authority, but their goal remains the same: the destruction of Israel. Journalists have long overlooked the historical details of this conflict. The widow struggling to cross an Israel checkpoint, the boy throwing harmless rocks at an occupying Israeli tank, the story of a disenfranchised people is dramatic. It sells. Instead of factual reporting, the mainstream media has placed culpability on both parties, creating a perception of equal aggression, of a 'cycle' of violence.

Since the Arab world has transferred its failed military campaign against Israel into a diplomatic and public relations siege, they have used an underprivileged Palestinian population as their primary weapon against Israel. Jordanian King Hussein described this strategy as early as 1960 in an interview with an Associated Press: "Since 1948 Arab leaders have approached the Palestine problem in an irresponsible manner. They have not looked into the future. They have no plan or approach. They have used the Palestinian people for selfish political purposes. This is ridiculous and, I could say, criminal."

What King Hussein understood about his own people, American journalists are still oblivious to. Arabs have been negligent of Palestinian rights, many times prolonging their misery in effort to undermine Israel. This plan is bearing fruits now, as homicidal fanatics with little to lose, blow themselves up among women and children in Netanya, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

It all begins with the presumption that the West Bank and Gaza are 'occupied territory.' While most Israelis have come to terms with the fact some form of Palestinian autonomy is forthcoming, at the very least these lands should be considered 'disputed' territories. The phrase 'occupied territory' has become universally accepted, however, despite its historical complexity. Newsweek's recent coverage of Israel, for instance, uses the phrase countless times without even mentioning a challenging view.

Fact is, Jews have had a continued presence in Israel for 3,000 years and have never relinquished their claim. Arabs rejected the United Nations resolution of November 29, 1947 calling for the establishment of two states in Palestine, with an all out war to eliminate Jews enacted by the Arab world. After the 1967 War -- another war of Arab aggression -- Israel recovered a small remnant (13% in whole) of what was promised to them by the UN -- eventually handing back the Sinai Desert for peace with Egypt in 1977.

Between 1948-1967, Jordan and Egypt, who governed the West Bank and Gaza, respectively, never offered to surrender those lands to form an independent Palestinian state. No Palestinian organization ever sought an independent state. No Arab country had even suggested its existence. An Arab Palestine has never been the name of any nation or state. 'Palestine' was a geographical term used only to identify administrative boundaries within larger empires, nothing more.

The purpose of a separate Palestinian State was defined faultlessly by the late Zoher Moessein, head of PLO bureau of military operation:

"There is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians and Lebanese; we are all members of the same nation. Solely for political reasons are we careful to stress our identity as Palestinians. Since a separate State of Palestine would be an extra weapon in Arab hands to fight Zionism with. Yes, we do call for the creation of a Palestinian state for tactical reasons. Such a state would be a new means of continuing the battle against Zionism, and for Arab unity."

An offshoot of the occupation myth is the 'refugee' fabrication. It states that a significant portion of the Arab population was driven out of Israel by force during the 1948 War. It makes for good copy, but it's false. Egyptian activist, Edward Said, the most famous of these "refugees," for example, has been exposed as a fraud, as has this revisionist history.

Mark Twain, a man, one would think, as devoid of 'imperialistic Zionist' intentions, wrote in 1867 that Palestine was "a desolate country whose soil is rich enough but is given over wholly to weeds." Yet, Arabs have claimed that over a million refugees were forced from their homes during the 1948 War of Independence -- this number includes Arabs whose relatives entered Israel from 1946 onward. The number of Arab refugees is probably closer to 400,000, most of whom took it upon themselves to flee despite Jewish assurances that they would not be harmed. The contention that Arabs were removed by gunpoint is totally incorrect. Research by the Arab-sponsored Institute for Palestinians Studies in Beirut found that "the majority of the Arab refugees in 1948 were not expelled and 68 percent left without ever seeing an Israeli soldier."

In her meticulously researched book, From Time Immemorial, Joan Peters proves that a roughly equivalent number of Jewish refugees were expelled from Arab nations during the same period -- 120,000 from Iraq alone. It is estimated that one million immigrants were integrated into Israel's society from 1948-1950.

None of them, on the other hand, were confined for life to refugee camps.

i agree with you aish - support the boycott of the LA Times
http://www.geocities.com/truthmasters/boycotttheLATimes.html

(5)
Jerry Levine,
April 16, 2002 12:00 AM

The west bank was not palestine- it was Jordan

In 1967, the arabs blockaded the Gulf of Aqaba at the southern end of Israel instigating the six day war. The weast bank, belonging to Jordan, was seized to prevent future danger at the narrowest part of Israel. There was no palestinian territory seized and occupied, it wasa Jordanian. How come the non-biased,uninformed media doesan't know nor state this faxct. My school-aged children do far better research than the media. Why doesn't Jordan ask for THEIR land back? Something is greatly amiss with this inaccurate picture and it is being perpetuated by CNN,CBS,ABC,NBC,BBC,NYTimes, etc.

(4)
Rabbi Shraga Simmons,
April 14, 2002 12:00 AM

Dear "a rose by any other name,"

Thank you for writing and sharing your thoughts.

It is generally agreed that the Arabs themselves were responsible for the refugee

problem.

Former Prime Minister of Syria, Khaled al-Azem, in his memoirs published in 1973,

wrote: "We brought destruction upon a million Arab refugees by calling on them and

Thaura"): "The Arab armies, who invaded the country in '48, forced the Palestinians to

emigrate and leave their homeland and forced a political and ideological siege on them."

It was Arab leaders who intentionally refused to settle these people in normal housing

from 1948-67. It was the Arabs who refused to permit Israel to settle these people in

normal housing from 1967-95. And since the Palestinian Authority began to rule over

these people in the mid-1990s (as it now rules over 97% of the Palestinians in the

territories), it was the Arabs who refused to settle these people in normal housing --

despite the millions and millions of international relief dollars which poured into PA

coffers, specifically for this purpose.

As for solving the refugee problem, Israel has been trying to find a Palestinian leader to

negotiate with, but Yasser Arafat continually resorts to his rejectionist and terrorist ways.

Arafat demands the "right of return" for all 3.7 million Palestinians to within the borders

of the State of Israel. Israel maintains that these refugees primarily left of their own

accord, and that Palestinian demands that these refugees be absorbed into the State of

Israel is just a political move to destroy the Jewish state through demographics.

All the best,

Rabbi Shraga Simmons

Aish.com

(3)
GABRIEL HEFFES,
April 13, 2002 12:00 AM

excellent

more articles like this will help fighting the biased(antisemitic)media

(2)
S. K. Shue,
April 10, 2002 12:00 AM

Not enough Public Relations

Israel has got to do a better job at PR---why not hire a worldclass PR firm to do behind-the-scenes PR work for the Israeli Govt. and Israeli Media to show the truth around the world. There would be better understanding of the Israeli plight then, while exposing the Islamic evil.

(1)
Anonymous,
April 10, 2002 12:00 AM

A rose by any other name...

The West Bank and Gaza were not part of Israel when Israel declared its independence. The Palestinians who fled to those two areas to avoid being in the middle of a war zone or to flee their homes after being threatened by some armed Jewish persons are truly refugees. In the English language, when an army takes over and controls an area that is not part of its own state, the adjective "occupying" is appropriate to use to describe the army's continuing presence in the conquered area. The future political disposition of occupied territory can be 'disputed', but that does not change the fact that it is "occupied". The fact that in the past Arab countries did not take good care of their cousins is irrelevant to the discussion. If the citizens of Israel are to live justly according to the Mosaic law, they must treat their neighbors individually and collectively with compassion just as the citizens would want to be treated if they were in similar circumstances. Most Israeli citizens can remember that either they or their parents or grandparents were refugees at one time. Yours is a conscientious culture - do not turn a blind eye to the evil that has been done to the Palestinian refugees in the name of Israeli security and the proud human desire to re-establish the ancient kingdom of Israel at the expense of people whose ancestors lived in the land hundreds of years before you, your parents, or your grandparents arrived. We humans must forgive the evil we have done to one another - always. We humans must forget the evil we have done to one another - never - so that we can always be on our guard not to repeat such evils.